Gender Gaps in Political Participation

Gender Equality and Gender-Role Attitudes in Europe

The project examines why gender gaps in political participation remain. The analysis focuses on two key factors: national levels of gender equality and attitudes toward the roles of women and men. Covering European countries from 1999 to 2025, the project shows how gender equality and gender-role attitudes interact to influence gender gaps in political participation.

Explore the project

FEATURES

About the project

Political participation gaps

The project analyses differences in how women and men engage in politics — from voting and party involvement to petitions, protests, and civic action.

Gender equality policies

We examine how national policy frameworks influence gender equality and shape long-term political outcomes.

Gender-role attitudes

The study explores how societal beliefs about gender roles affect political behaviour and participation patterns

Comparative European perspective

The project covers European countries between 1999 and 2025, enabling long-term cross-national comparison.

Open research infrastructure

The project develops and shares new tools, including the Gender Equality Policy Dataset and an EU gender equality index.

Knowledge dissemination

Findings are shared through academic publications, conferences, workshops, and public-facing materials.

PROJECT FRAMEWORK

Understanding gender gaps in political participation

The project investigates the relationship between political behaviour, public policies, and societal attitudes. The project brings together different dimensions of gender equality to explain how and why participation patterns differ across countries and over time. The main objective of the project is to better understand why gender gaps in political participation persist despite increasing formal equality across Europe.

Key areas of analysis:

interaction between gender equality policies and political participation

impact of gender-role attitudes on civic and political engagement

cross-national comparison across European countries

long-term perspective (1999–2025) capturing change and backlash

RESEARCH TEAM

Who is behind the project

The research team consists of two scholars (PI and Post Doc) from the University of Warsaw working on gender, politics, and comparative research.

Research Updates & Events

This section features the latest updates from the project, including research progress, publications, events, and accessible insights on gender equality and political participation in Europe.

View all updates

International Workshop “Innovative Methodologies in Gender Studies”

Dr. Olga Lavrinenko

June 25, 2026

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SUPPORT

FAQs

Here you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the project, its objectives, data, and research outputs. If you cannot find the information you are looking for, please feel free to contact the research team.

What is the project about?

The project is a research initiative that examines differences in political participation between women and men across Europe, focusing on the role of gender equality and gender-role attitudes.

What makes this project different?

The project introduces a multidimensional approach to gender-role attitudes and combines it with a comprehensive dataset on gender equality policies, offering a more nuanced understanding of participation gaps.

Which countries are included?

The project covers multiple European countries, enabling cross-national comparison and analysis of long-term trends between 1999 and 2025.

What kind of data does the project use?

The project combines original datasets on gender equality policies with survey data on gender-role attitudes, allowing for in-depth analysis of how institutions and beliefs interact.